The New Jersey Economic Development Authority, along with CoreWeave and other “accredited investors,” have created an investment fund to support young companies that, according to a statement, can help the Garden State strengthen its “standing as a national leader in AI innovation.”
CoreWeave is a cloud computing and AI company based in the state. It is backing a $6 billion data center in Pennsylvania.
The state, home of Bell Labs and the site of two of Thomas Edison’s famous laboratories, aims to keep alive that spirit of innovation through AI leadership, including via private-sector partnerships.
The state will put $10 million into the fund, with the rest coming from CoreWeave and others.
Money will go to startups “associated” with the NJ AI Hub Strategic Innovation Center (SIC). The idea is to provide access to capital and expertise that will help those companies grow, according to the statement.
“The growth of New Jersey’s innovation ecosystem creates immense opportunities for residents and entrepreneurs, helping create jobs in growing industries, transform communities and catalyze new startup creation,” said Gov. Phil Murphy in the statement, adding that this new fund will help make the state “more competitive in the global economy for decades to come.”
Plug and Play, a California operation that runs a startup accelerator program and a venture capital fund, will manage the program at SIC, according to the announcement.
The plan calls for a new cohort of startups to take part in the accelerator program each year.
Plug and Play, in fact, has been awarded a $3.8 million state grant to develop and manage the AI Challenge, a program designed “to identify challenges across the state and develop AI-based software solutions,” according to the statement.
Winners receive help from Plug and Play to test pilots.
“New Jersey is fast becoming one of the most compelling places in the country to build an AI company, and this fund makes that real for founders, not just on paper,” said Plug and Play Partner and Chief Revenue Officer Michael Olmstead in the statement.
